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Friday, October 4, 2013

It is the single
best unspoken sports law of all time: the law of 1 in 10,000.

It goes like this:
in a given sports scenario, the most certain of outcomes will happen 9,999
times out of 10,000. The hail marys will be swatted to the ground, the
half-court shots will fall short, and the final batter will ground out and fail
to score the tying run. Time and time again, these edge-of-glory moments never
materialize, dreams are vanquished, and the world settles back to its boring,
disappointing normalcy.

But every now and
then, a single spark of fate catches fire, and the sports world is treated to
something so unforgettable that these moments live on in the depths of time. Giants
fall, national pride is won, and small-town heroes find themselves immersed in
more lights and fanfare then they ever could have imagined. One time in
ten-thousand, something amazing happens.

For this game
against Ohio State, many have written off the Wildcats. “What’s Northwestern?”
is a common phrase I have seen from B1G fans, in addition to all of the talk
about our Wildcats preparing uselessly for the Buckeye steamroller. More fans,
a bigger stadium, a wider pool of talent, a world-renowned coach, a tradition
of winning and success—it does not quite add up to a lot of folks believing in
a Northwestern win this weekend. Even talking to my father over the phone, I
heard an earful of “Don’t get too excited man, Ohio State is so damn good.”

Sounds like the
perfect set-up, right?

The idea of the 1
in 10,000 has kept fans in their seats since the beginning of athletics. There
is always a chance for a miracle—nothing is scripted, nothing is set in stone,
and even the largest favorite can be vulnerable. Against the juggernaut that
has been, and is, the Ohio State University, little old Northwestern does not
appear to have too great of a chance, but nothing is certain. This is arguably
the best gang of Wildcats in twenty years, and if any team can seize this
moment and shock the sports world, it is this one.

That is why, on
this Saturday, it is okay to believe. It is okay to expect the unexpected. It is
okay to put every ounce of your Wildcat passion into this game. We live and die
by these moments of sheer, unbridled, irrational belief. We keep screaming and
shouting because we never know when this next moment will be the one in ten-thousand. We never know
when everything will click and the stars will align and the pieces will fall
into place and the miracle, the do-you-believe-what-I-just-saw moment of
ecstasy and celebration, will happen.

That is why, right
now, in the wee hours of the night, these Wildcats lie awake with thoughts of
an upset on their minds. This is a place that believes in its peers, believes
in their abilities, and believes that through all of the claws and screams and
move-the-chains and Go Cats!, we have the chance to be that 1 in 10,000—all of
us. We have the chance to do something great, and no matter how small that
chance may seem to outsiders, to us, it is all we need.

So dream on,
friends. Imagine that Rebecca-Crown clock tower glowing purple in the night,
standing tall and proud over the shouts and cheers echoing down Sheridan Road.
Imagine Ryan Field, always a place not quite big enough, packed with the
larger-than-life presence of victorious Wildcat fans. Imagine the shock and the
awe and all of the pulse-pounding, chest-clutching, breath-snatching agony that
might bring us there. Just for right now—imagine. You can see it all.

Restless nights
like this are why we love this school. All of the close calls and heart attacks
have been leading up to this. We have stayed loyal and true to our Wildcat
family year in and year out, and now, on the eve of one of the biggest games
this incredible place has ever seen, we owe it to ourselves to believe just one
more time. Win or lose, we can hold our heads high when it is all over, because
we never quit on our Cats, just like they never quit on us.

If you played out this game ten-thousand
times, OSU might win 9,999 of those contests. But you know what? That does not
have to be this game. This game could be it; this game could be the one.
Because tomorrow the Ohio State Buckeyes are going to see the real Northwestern,
and the real Northwestern is far more than just the guys who hit the grass.
Anything—anything—can happen.